Good Morning America continued its post-health care victory lap for the late
Ted Kennedy on Tuesday. An ABC graphic enthused, "The Lion's Legacy: Kennedy's
Widow on Health Care." Reporter Jon Karl talked to Vicki Kennedy and prompted
her to lament Republican obstruction: "How disappointed would [Kennedy] have
been to see that this was a vote without a single Republican in either chamber
voting yes?"

As video of tea party protesters appeared onscreen, Karl wondered, "Did he
anticipate in any way, the level of vitriol?" (It seemed lost on Karl that Ted
Kennedy often attacked people with his own invective, such as in 1987 when he
slimed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork's America as
one of back alley abortions and segregation.)

Tuesday was day two of ABC's trumpeting of Kennedy. On Monday, GMA co-host George
Stephanopoulos demanded of Senator John McCain, "...You were good friends
with Senator Ted Kennedy. What would you say to him this morning?" On the same
show, a graphic during a Roberts
segment gushed, "Rep. Kennedy on Dad's Final Wish: Father's Life Work Was
Reform."

A transcript of the March 23 segment, which aired at 8:33am EDT, follows:

ROBIN ROBERTS: But, although Senator Ted Kennedy, as you know, did not live
to cast his vote on the health care bill, his memory was evoked by many of the
bill's supporters. His widow, Vicki Kennedy, visited his grave at Arlington
Cemetery as the final debate was taking place. And she spoke with our Jon Karl,
who joins us right now from Washington. That had to be- That had to be a moment
for her.

ABC GRAPHIC: The Lion's Legacy: Kennedy's Widow on Health Care

JON KARL: Oh, really. We have heard very little publicly from Vicki Kennedy
since Ted Kennedy's death. But, despite her low profile, she has been following
the ins and outs of this debate. And actually working hard behind the scenes to
get the bill passed.

NANCY PELOSI: The bill is passed.

KARL: What was your reaction when you finally saw the gavel come
down?

VICKI KENNEDY: It was one of great joy. And it's one that I knew my husband
would have loved to have seen.

KARL: How would he have reacted to the vote?

VICKI KENNEDY: I think on this one, he would take a little bit more time and
celebrate it. I have to say. Because, this one was a long time coming.

KARL: How disappointed would he have been to see that this was a vote
without a single Republican in either chamber voting yes?

VICKI KENNEDY: I think he would be happy that it passed the legislation. I
think he certainly would have tried, as did the Senate and as did the House.
President Obama certainly made the outreach. He certainly would have tried to
make this bipartisan.

KARL: Senator Kennedy wrote this letter to President Obama in May.

BARACK OBAMA [Reading Ted Kennedy's letter in a speech to Congress]: "What we
face," he wrote, "is above all, a moral issue. At stake are not just the details
of policy. But fundamental principles of social justice."

KARL: Why did he decide to write this letter?

VICKI KENNEDY: He knew that he was very sick. And in the event he were not
here, he wanted to thank President Obama for his leadership. And to basically,
just go on the record and say he thought it was the moral issue of our time.
Everything he did was about the future.

TED KENNEDY [Giving speech to DNC]: Thank you. Thank you.

VICKI KENNEDY: Think about his convention speech in Denver.

TED KENNEDY: Every American, north, south, east, west, young, old, will have
decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege.

VICKI KENNEDY: Wasn't about him. It was about going forward. It was about
passing the torch to a new generation.

KARL: When he writes, if you allow me to, "When I thought of all the years,
all the battles, and all the memories of my long public life, I felt confident
in the closing days that while I would not be there when it happens, you will be
the President who, at long last, signs into law, the health care reform that is
the great unfinished business of our society."

VICKI KENNEDY: That's what he believed. And he was right.

KARL [Onscreen video of tea party protesters]: Did he anticipate in any
way, the level of vitriol?

VICKI KENNEDY: Oh, absolutely. He absolutely knew it was going to be
difficult. He talked to me about the fact that the closer we got, people would
start to get more at odds because change is a scary thing.

KARL: When Scott Brown won in Massachusetts, did you think even for a moment
that the cause was lost?

VICKI KENNEDY: No, I didn't.

KARL: Really?

VICKI KENNEDY: I didn't. I believed in this President. I believed in the
Speaker. I believed in the members of Congress. And I believe in the American
people.

KARL: A lot of people have been saying that, you know, wanting you to run
for that seat. Did you have a moment when that happened, where you
second-guessed your own decision?

VICKI KENNEDY: No. You know, I've been in a very emotional time. You know?
Very emotional time.

KARL: Sure. [Interview ends.] Vicki also told me that in the days before the
final vote, she was talking to wavering members, in person and on the phone,
wavering Democrats. Telling them to vote yes. Including a face-to-face meeting
with a Massachusetts Democrat named Stephen Lynch, who had come out saying he
would vote against the bill. And Lynch did up end voting no. He was the only
Democrat from Massachusetts to vote no on that bill. Robin, we can only imagine
what that conversation must have been like.

ROBERTS: Yeah. We can only imagine. It was great to see Vicki. And you can
tell, it's been an emotional time for her.

-Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on
Twitter.

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